An atlas of Earth’s mysterious places — megaliths, pyramids, lost and sunken cities — with the evidence shown plainly: what is verified, what is contested, and what is still unknown.

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Iraq

105 places in the atlas, 11 of them inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage.

Kinds found here

Tells70
Ancient cities41
Pyramids32
Temple complexes26
Buried cities25
Mounds25
Ancient villages14
Ziggurats13
Archaeological wonders9
Hydraulic works7
Aqueducts2
Canals2

How well established

Verified101
Accepted2
Contested1
Hypothetical1

Top regions

Nineveh Governorate5
Dhi Qar Governorate4
Diyala Governorate4
Diyala Governorate, Hamrin3
Qadisiyah Governorate3
Al-Qadisiyah Governorate, Southern Iraq2

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Verification

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Verified101 Widely accepted2 Contested1

Babil Governorate

Baghdad Governorate2

Dhi Qar Governorate, southern alluvium2

Nineveh Governorate, Nimrud (Kalhu)2

Nineveh Governorate, Northern Iraq2

Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Shahrizor Plain, Kurdistan2

Hypothetical1

Unverified0

Pseudoarchaeology0

Heritage

UNESCO World Heritage only

Excavation

Partially excavated50 Excavated38 Excavation ongoing13 Buried4

41 places · page 1 of 2

Ancient cities

✓Verified

🇮🇶 Iraq · Hydraulic works

Nimrud Dam

Neo-Assyrian Empire 879-612 BCE · Assyrian Neo-Assyrian imperial engineers

879 BCE Assyrian Tigris weir dam (200 m) at Nimrud with 5 gated sluices feeding Sennacherib's canal cascade to Nineveh.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city

Muṣaṣir (Mudjesir)

Iron Age (1000–714 BCE) · Hurro-Urartian

Iron Age (1000–714 BCE) ancient-city of Hurro-Urartian in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Sidekan (c.1000 BCE).

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Tell

Tell al-'Ubaid (Tell el-Ubaid)

Ubaid to Ur III (6500–2000 BCE; peak Ubaid 5500–3800 BCE) · Ubaid (southern Mesopotamian) → Uruk → Early Dynastic → Ur III

Type-site of the Ubaid period — low mound with tripartite temples and ophidian figurines.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city

Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah) – Temple City of Shamash

Early Dynastic to Parthian (c. 3000 BCE – 100 CE) · Sumerian / Akkadian / Babylonian / Neo-Babylonian / Achaemenid

Shamash sun-temple city whose Euphrates harbour lies 2 km off modern river – Sun God Tablet and Babylonian World Map findspot.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city

Nimrud (Kalhu) – Assyrian Capital Harbour on Tigris

Early Dynastic to Neo-Assyrian (c. 2700 BCE – 612 BCE) · Assyrian / Mitanni / Neo-Assyrian

Assyrian capital's Tigris quay – 60 m limestone quay with winged lamassu harbour gate under fields.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city

Zabalam (Tell Ibzeikh) – Sumerian Temple Harbour on Iturungal

Early Dynastic to Isin-Larsa (c. 2900 – 2000 BCE) · Sumerian / Lagash-Umma / Ur III / Isin-Larsa

Inanna's canal port on Lagash–Umma waterway – Iturungal harbour revetment 40 m at –2 m.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Tell

Tepe Gawra

Ubaid to Middle Bronze (5000–1500 BCE; peak Chalcolithic 4500–3500 BCE) · Northern Ubaid → Gawran Chalcolithic → Uruk → Early Dynastic → Mitanni

Northern Ubaid–Uruk reference mound with 18 m Round House and 20-level sequence.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city

Kisurra (Tell Abu Hatab) – Sargonic City-State Harbour on Euphrates

Early Dynastic to Old Babylonian (c. 2700 – 1600 BCE) · Sumerian / Akkadian / Ur III / Isin-Larsa / Old Babylonian

Sargonic linen harbour city – canal harbour 80×50 m silted 500 m east of tell with 1200 tablets.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city

Eshnunna (Tell Asmar)

Early Dynastic to Old Babylonian (Isin-Larsa contemporary) · Sumerian-Akkadian Eshnunna kingdom

Akkadian-Old Babylonian city-state of Eshnunna (c.3000–1760 BCE) controlling Diyala basin between Sumer and Elam, famous for the Laws of Eshnunna (c.1930 BCE, ~60 laws predating Hammurapi by two…

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city

Nimrud (Kalhu)

Middle to Neo-Assyrian (1350–612 BCE) · Assyrian

Second capital of Assyria after Assur under Ashurnasirpal II (883 BCE), who built the Northwest Palace with 600 m of alabaster lamassu and bas-reliefs (Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III showing King…

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city

Nippur

Ubaid to Islamic · Sumerian → Akkadian → Babylonian → Kassite

Holy city of Sumer and Akkad, seat of Enlil (Lord Air) whose Ekur temple gave legitimacy to kingship — 'king without Nippur is no king'.

✓VerifiedUNESCO

🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city

Assur

Early Dynastic to Neo-Assyrian to Parthian · Assyrian (Akkadian dialect)

First capital and holy city of Assyria (c.2600 BCE–614 BCE, 70 ha on Tigris bend) — temple of god Assur (Ashur) whose city and god name are one.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Tell

Tell Hassuna

Neolithic Hassuna-Samarra (c.6000–5600 BCE) · Hassuna

Type site 1939–44 excavation by Seton Lloyd that defined the Hassuna painted pottery tradition of northern Iraq.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city

Girsu (Tello)

Ubaid to Old Babylonian (c.5000–1700 BCE; peak ED IIIb–Lagash II) · Ubaid → Sumerian (Lagash) → Akkadian → Ur III → Isin-Larsa → Babylonian

Lagash state capital with Gudea statues, 50,000 tablets and newly CT-mapped canal temple.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Temple complex

Tell Agrab

Late Uruk to Akkadian (c.3400–2200 BCE; temple peak ED II–III 2750–2350 BCE) · Uruk → Jemdet Nasr → Early Dynastic Sumerian (Diyala) → Akkadian

Oval Shara Temple with ED votive hoard and earliest saw-tooth niche architecture.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Tell

Shuruppak (Tell Fara)

Jemdet Nasr to Early Dynastic IIIa (c.3000–2500 BCE) · Early Dynastic Sumerian

Canoe-shaped Sumerian city Tell Fara 35 miles S of Nippur, legendary home of Ziusudra (Utnapishtim).

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city

Umma (Tell Jokha)

Early Dynastic to Old Babylonian (c.2900–1700 BCE; peak Lagash–Umma border war 2500–2350 BCE) · Sumerian (Umma ensi dynasty) → Akkadian → Ur III → Isin-Larsa

Lagash's blood-enemy with Stele-of-Vultures war archive and 20,000 Ur III tablets of a date-palm oligarchy.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city

Shuruppak

Jemdet Nasr to Early Dynastic / Ur III abandonment · Early Dynastic Sumerian

Early Dynastic city-state (c.3000–2300 BCE) famed as home of Utnapishtim/Ziusudra, survivor of the Flood in Gilgamesh and Sumerian Flood story ('Instructions of Shuruppak' wisdom text).

✓VerifiedUNESCO

🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city

Eridu

Ubaid to Neo-Babylonian · Ubaid → Sumerian → Babylonian

Sumerian sacred city traditionally first city in the world (Sumerian King List), center of god Enki/Ea cult (Abzu).

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Tell

Tell Hawa

Neolithic–Iron Age (c.6100–600 BCE) plus later · Halaf → Ubaid → Ninevite 5 → ED–Akkadian → Mittanian–Assyrian

Sinjar plain megamound 80 ha (Halaf–Assyrian 6k yr sequence, 25 m high) near Tel Afar.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Tell

Kisurra (Tell Abu Hatab)

Early Dynastic–Old Babylonian (c.2700–1700 BCE) · Sumerian → Amorite Kisurra kingdom

Twin mound Abu Hatab (Kisurra) in the Euphrates back-marshes: Isin-Larsa era kingdom squeezed between Isin and Larsa, palatial archives (EB Kisurra texts), and ED IIIb votive stone of King Ibaya.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Tell

Tell es-Sawwan

Neolithic Samarra (c.6300–5700 BCE) · Samarra → Ubaid

Ditch-moat village with 130 intramural graves: 130 adult Samarra graves beneath floors yielding alabaster “Sawwan” women – elongated skulls, bitumen-banded eyes – the largest Samarra figurine corpus.

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Tell

Tell al-Rimah (Karana / Qattara)

Old Babylonian–Old Assyrian (c.1900–1700 BCE) to Middle Assyrian · Upper Mesopotamian Old Babylonian kingdom of Karana / Qattara

Upper Jazira fortified court city Karana (Tell al-Rimah) with massive temple Zigg followed by a double palace discovered by David Oates: palace with wall paintings, archive of 600 OB letters (Qattara…

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🇮🇶 Iraq · Ancient city

Adab (Tell Bismaya)

Late Uruk to Old Babylonian (c.3300–1700 BCE; peak ED IIIa and Ur III 2600–2000 BCE) · Uruk → Jemdet Nasr → Early Dynastic → Akkadian → Ur III → Isin-Larsa

Pre-Sargonic scribal city of Ninhursag with earliest school tablets and ED drainage galleries.

Iraq

Kinds found here

How well established

Top regions

Category

Heritage

Excavation

Tags

41 places · page 1 of 2

Nimrud Dam

Muṣaṣir (Mudjesir)

Tell al-'Ubaid (Tell el-Ubaid)

Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah) – Temple City of Shamash

Nimrud (Kalhu) – Assyrian Capital Harbour on Tigris

Zabalam (Tell Ibzeikh) – Sumerian Temple Harbour on Iturungal

Tepe Gawra

Kisurra (Tell Abu Hatab) – Sargonic City-State Harbour on Euphrates

Eshnunna (Tell Asmar)

Nimrud (Kalhu)

Nippur

Assur

Tell Hassuna

Girsu (Tello)

Tell Agrab

Shuruppak (Tell Fara)

Umma (Tell Jokha)

Shuruppak

Eridu

Tell Hawa

Kisurra (Tell Abu Hatab)

Tell es-Sawwan

Tell al-Rimah (Karana / Qattara)

Adab (Tell Bismaya)